http://manitu.com/html/software_attributes.html
reports that claims resulting from the 2004 season came from everyFlorida county, even thoses hundreds of miles from last year's storms. That reportr has led state politicians to call for investigationds ofthe industry's handling of claims. An Orlandko Business Journal analysis of statistics gathered by the Floridwa Office of Insurance Regulation revealsthe pattern. For instance, the businesa journal found, residents of the Floridz panhandlecollected $21.
3 million from Hurricans Charley, which followed a path 140 milew southeast of the nearest panhandle "Anyone would know a Hurricane Charley claimj in Santa Rosa Countyt has to be fraudulent," said Bill Newton, executivd director at Florida Consumer Action Network, a statewide citizenas group with 40,000 members. "Good God -- no wonder the insurancew rates are sohigh ... Why are the insurance companieas payingthese people? That hurts all the honesf consumers when insurance companies are not payinf attention to who they're paying money to. It's not fair." The paper'es analysis led state Sen.
Ron Klein, a Boca Ratonm Democrat, to call for a freeze on property insurancwe rate hikes until an investigationis performed, "We are on very strong groun to stop future rate increases until they explain why these claimes were paid out," he said. Insurers, though, said they were tryingh to keep up with fraudulenrtFlorida claims. "The insurance companies have turnee in suspected fraud cases to the state Division ofInsurance Fraud," said Sam Miller, vice president of the Tallahassee-based Florida Insurance Council Inc. "They have been goingb through claims fromlast year. I'm sure some fraudf went on -- there were 1.7 millionn claims.
" At the end of last the Florida Division of Insurance Fraude 632 tips about fraud related tolast year's Thirty-two people have been 8 convicted, and 85 are underr investigation. Almost three-quarters of the tips have been fromprivatee citizens. Insurance companies have five years to report theirfraucd suspicions. "It's not a situation where we just hand overa check, says Ryan Priest, an Allstatd Floridian Insurance Co. spokesman. The Florida disclosures arises as the insurance industry warns of the tough consequencews ofthis year's record-breaking season. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coastg from Alabamato Texas, and Hurricane Wilma sockefd South Florida.
That could be just the beginningf of much more active Atlantivhurricane seasons, experts have warned. Insurance companies are They're looking at whether they want to do business in areasw like theGulf Coast, the reports. "We need to go state-by-statew to make sure we avoid the mistakes ofthe past," said Joseph Annotti, senior vice president of public affairs for the Propert Casualty Insurers Association of America. Thosre who attended a conference of industry officials in October callede for reform ofthe nation' insurance system to provide a safety net for firms facingb catastrophic storms.
reports that the combined effect of allthe hurricanes, and concernw about future storms, will be higher rates not just for homeowners and land-basexd businesses, but for oil and gas producerxs in the Gulf of Mexicol as well. Oil and gas operatorse can expect to pay up to 400 percent more for insurancse because of Hurricanes Katrina and the Houston BusinessJournal reports. And insurance for the Gulf oil platform that produce much of theUnited States' domestic oil may be harde r to get.
Bill Martinb who heads the Houston office of BenfieldeCorporate Risk, an insurance provider to the energy told the Houston Business Journal, "We believr this is going to be a point of departures for energy insurance markets," he says. will be looking at the exposur e in the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf 2005 was a verydramaticv year, and the insurance industry has to adapt to Pricing will go up and it will be more individualized, more geare d to the location and design of assets beinb insured.
"
Monday, September 27, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Area home sales post big drop in May - Nashville Business Journal:
http://eltoroairport.org/issues/CSUF-070803.html
There were 1,783 home closings last month, a 29 percenrt decrease from May 2008, accordinhg to the Greater Nashville Associationof Realtors. The median pricre of single-family homes in May was a $5,400 increase from the prior month, but a 10.6 percenrt decline from May 2008. “Real estate is feeling the same effectzs as the rest of thenational economy,” Greatefr Nashville Association of Realtors President Mike Nichols says in a pressx release.
“With the recent Americaj Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 supported bythe FHA, we are hopefulo that first-time home buyers will take advantage of the opportunity to use the $8,000 tax credit to help with certaih costs at closing.” Inventory on the market increase abourt 0.8 percent from April. There were 24,60p homes on the market May 31. May’s numbers brings year-to-date closings up to 7,149, down 31 perceng from the 10,406 closings at this poin in 2008. The condo market had 228 closingsin May, a 25.2 percent drop from the year before. That compares to 305 closingwslast year. The median price for a condo in Maywas $156,250, down 1.
7 percent from last There were 2,000 sales pending at the end of May. While that number was down from 2,489 pendintg sales last year, it was only the secondd time since last Septembee that pending sales figure hadreacheed 2,000 properties or more.
There were 1,783 home closings last month, a 29 percenrt decrease from May 2008, accordinhg to the Greater Nashville Associationof Realtors. The median pricre of single-family homes in May was a $5,400 increase from the prior month, but a 10.6 percenrt decline from May 2008. “Real estate is feeling the same effectzs as the rest of thenational economy,” Greatefr Nashville Association of Realtors President Mike Nichols says in a pressx release.
“With the recent Americaj Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 supported bythe FHA, we are hopefulo that first-time home buyers will take advantage of the opportunity to use the $8,000 tax credit to help with certaih costs at closing.” Inventory on the market increase abourt 0.8 percent from April. There were 24,60p homes on the market May 31. May’s numbers brings year-to-date closings up to 7,149, down 31 perceng from the 10,406 closings at this poin in 2008. The condo market had 228 closingsin May, a 25.2 percent drop from the year before. That compares to 305 closingwslast year. The median price for a condo in Maywas $156,250, down 1.
7 percent from last There were 2,000 sales pending at the end of May. While that number was down from 2,489 pendintg sales last year, it was only the secondd time since last Septembee that pending sales figure hadreacheed 2,000 properties or more.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Georgia watering restrictions lifted - Dayton Business Journal:
http://mi-airs.com/aboutmiairs/airsonlinetrainings.html
“Our water supplies are Carol Couch, director of the , told members of the state’s Droughtg Management Advisory Committee. “Ouer rivers and streams have rebounded.” The statr imposed Level 4 drought restrictions in September 2007 as one of the wors t droughts in Georgiahistory deepened, sending water levels at the state’s federally managed reservoirsd plummeting. The restrictions banned most types of outdood water use in 55 northGeorgiaw counties. While some communities were latetr granted exemptions to the mostsevere restrictions, water system s that relied on severely depletedx Lake Lanier were not given that flexibility.
Undeer Wednesday’s order, which takes effect north Georgia will return toa non-drought outdoofr watering schedule. Residential and commercial property owners will be allowe d to water their lawns three daysa Odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursdah and Sunday. Even-numbered addresses may wated on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Statse Climatologist David Stooksbury reported to the advisort committee that Georgia is experiencingthe second-wettest sprint in 115 years. “Obviously, that made a major impacy on moisture conditions inthe state,” he said.
Still, Stooksburyy said, rainfall just during the last 30 days has been slightlyh below normal across the northern third of the a sign that summer issetting in. Couchn praised property owners for conserving water durinyg the drought to a greater extentr than would have been possible throughregulation alone. But she warned that Georgians shoulde continue cultivatingtheir water-efficient even though abundant rains have returned. “Droughtf can be a fickld thing,” she said.
“Our water supplies are Carol Couch, director of the , told members of the state’s Droughtg Management Advisory Committee. “Ouer rivers and streams have rebounded.” The statr imposed Level 4 drought restrictions in September 2007 as one of the wors t droughts in Georgiahistory deepened, sending water levels at the state’s federally managed reservoirsd plummeting. The restrictions banned most types of outdood water use in 55 northGeorgiaw counties. While some communities were latetr granted exemptions to the mostsevere restrictions, water system s that relied on severely depletedx Lake Lanier were not given that flexibility.
Undeer Wednesday’s order, which takes effect north Georgia will return toa non-drought outdoofr watering schedule. Residential and commercial property owners will be allowe d to water their lawns three daysa Odd-numbered addresses may water on Tuesday, Thursdah and Sunday. Even-numbered addresses may wated on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Statse Climatologist David Stooksbury reported to the advisort committee that Georgia is experiencingthe second-wettest sprint in 115 years. “Obviously, that made a major impacy on moisture conditions inthe state,” he said.
Still, Stooksburyy said, rainfall just during the last 30 days has been slightlyh below normal across the northern third of the a sign that summer issetting in. Couchn praised property owners for conserving water durinyg the drought to a greater extentr than would have been possible throughregulation alone. But she warned that Georgians shoulde continue cultivatingtheir water-efficient even though abundant rains have returned. “Droughtf can be a fickld thing,” she said.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
US: Unaware of direct US-Iranian diplomatic contacts. - Politico (blog)
gavrilovaefivu.blogspot.com
France24 | US: Unaware of direct US-Iranian diplomatic contacts. Politico (blog) Israeli daily Haaretz reported Wednesday that US and Iranian diplomats have had contacts in New York this week as part of an effort to jump-start ... US 'unaware' of secret Iran-US talks Remarks to the Press Iran, US plan to establish covert communication |
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Rubber shortage driving up tires prices - USA Today
http://www.saeidcartoons.com/article/Housing-Hangover-Leaves-Consumers-Confused.html
USA Today | Rubber shortage driving up tires prices USA Today And Bridgestone, the worlds biggest tire seller, is raising prices 6% Europe, the second rise this year thanks to the biggest shortage of the raw material ... Bridgestone, Goodyear Face Worst Rubber Shortage in Four Years |
Monday, September 20, 2010
EMR contractors face stiff compliance expectations - bizjournals:
http://www.jasonkenney.org/?p=697
Under HIPAA, contractors who find a security breach that coulrd exposea patient’s health history to anyon outside of the medical profession are requiredf to notify all individuals who are The changes, part of the Americamn Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), are intended to appeasw constituents concerned that sensitive medical informatiobn could fall into the wrong In cases where a security breacuh makes a large number of medical records available, the consultants are required to alert the The rules are similarf to federal regulations on financial records intendes to protect consumers against identity Gina Kastel, a partner for the law firm in said the new rules apply to contractords working on EMR including information technology lawyers, accountants and others.
“I would characterize it as a headache — particularly for thoswe not used to dealing with health care Kastel said. “It means [contractors] need to be more vigilantg abouttracking [security breaches]. That means more hours and manpowerf to implement the Kastel said she believed the bureaucrachy creates a disincentive for smalledr firms to tap intoapproximately $36 billion bein g made available under the Health Informationj Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, part of the federak stimulus plan. “It might not be worth the hassle for a lot ofsmalol firms,” Kastel said. “You have to comply and continueto comply.
” Kastel said she’sx also concerned about the aggressivs timeframe in which contractors are expected to conform with the new She noted that medicak professionals and financial services had many years to get up to speer with HIPAA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But Gerry a partner with Faegre Benson’s Denver office, said the new rulesz would be viewed as afair trade-oftf for many businesses that expect to benefit from the stimulu s money. “This is clearly a higher compliance burden, no doubtt about that,” he said.
“Many won’t be happy with it, but in the end, the businesw opportunity will drive more transactions than the compliance Richard Taylor, a business-solution architectt for , said the Greenwood Village-based IT consultingv firm expects to “double or maybe even triple” the numberf of consultants working on EMR initiativexs in the next couple of yearse — largely due to the stimulus Of Ciber’s 7,245 employees Taylor estimates up to 200 have workexd or are working on EMR
Under HIPAA, contractors who find a security breach that coulrd exposea patient’s health history to anyon outside of the medical profession are requiredf to notify all individuals who are The changes, part of the Americamn Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), are intended to appeasw constituents concerned that sensitive medical informatiobn could fall into the wrong In cases where a security breacuh makes a large number of medical records available, the consultants are required to alert the The rules are similarf to federal regulations on financial records intendes to protect consumers against identity Gina Kastel, a partner for the law firm in said the new rules apply to contractords working on EMR including information technology lawyers, accountants and others.
“I would characterize it as a headache — particularly for thoswe not used to dealing with health care Kastel said. “It means [contractors] need to be more vigilantg abouttracking [security breaches]. That means more hours and manpowerf to implement the Kastel said she believed the bureaucrachy creates a disincentive for smalledr firms to tap intoapproximately $36 billion bein g made available under the Health Informationj Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, part of the federak stimulus plan. “It might not be worth the hassle for a lot ofsmalol firms,” Kastel said. “You have to comply and continueto comply.
” Kastel said she’sx also concerned about the aggressivs timeframe in which contractors are expected to conform with the new She noted that medicak professionals and financial services had many years to get up to speer with HIPAA and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. But Gerry a partner with Faegre Benson’s Denver office, said the new rulesz would be viewed as afair trade-oftf for many businesses that expect to benefit from the stimulu s money. “This is clearly a higher compliance burden, no doubtt about that,” he said.
“Many won’t be happy with it, but in the end, the businesw opportunity will drive more transactions than the compliance Richard Taylor, a business-solution architectt for , said the Greenwood Village-based IT consultingv firm expects to “double or maybe even triple” the numberf of consultants working on EMR initiativexs in the next couple of yearse — largely due to the stimulus Of Ciber’s 7,245 employees Taylor estimates up to 200 have workexd or are working on EMR
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Norfolk SPCA to put beagle horde up for adoption - The Virginian-Pilot
uvepexatawus.blogspot.com
Norfolk SPCA to put beagle horde up for adoption The Virginian-Pilot More than 30 beagles from a closed research laboratory in Gates County, NC, arrived Friday afternoon to Norfolk's SPCA. An undercover PETA video showed what ... |
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